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Martindale-Hubbell Rating: AV Preeminent

Ms. Neff has devoted the majority of her career to civil defense and the advancement of critical civil defense issues.  Ms. Neff’s practice includes the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith issues, unfair claim and trade practice suits, products liability, commercial liability, construction defects, personal injury, property damage, and workers’ compensation.  She has tried multiple cases to verdict in both bench trials and jury trials, and her appellate experience is reflected in several New Mexico Court of Appeals and Supreme Court opinions.

Ms. Neff received the prestigious rating of AV Preeminent from her peers under Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review system, based upon a finding that she meets the organization’s very high General Ethical Standards and that she practices at the highest level of professional excellence.  In 2013, Ms. Neff was named Young Lawyer of the Year by the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association.  Every year from 2015 through 2020, she was named a Southwest Rising Star by Super Lawyers, an honor bestowed on no more than 2.5% of the lawyers in a state.  In 2018, she was selected by America’s Top 100 Attorneys to earn its Lifetime Achievement designation.  In 2020, she was named a Super Lawyer for the State of New Mexico in the area of Civil Defense.

In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Neff devotes time to a variety of organizations and publications.  From 2012 to 2020, she served on the Editorial Board of Defense News, which is the quarterly publication of the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association.  She served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Defense News from 2014 to 2018.  Ms. Neff was elected to the Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Bar Association in 2013 and continues to serve the community in that capacity, becoming an Executive Board Member and Secretary in 2020. Ms. Neff has also been an active member of the H. Vearle Payne American Inn of Court.

Ms. Neff believes that mentorship and volunteerism are critical components of a successful and meaningful legal practice.  As such, she enjoys mentoring associates both within and outside of the firm.  She also helps coordinate the firm’s annual charity drive, which typically aims to address the needs of a different family or cause each year.

A native of Montana, Ms. Neff enjoys hiking, camping, climbing 14ers, and many other outdoor activities in her spare time.  She also volunteers for various community organizations and is a Running Buddy for local girls in the 3rd through 8th grades in the Girls on the Run Rio Grande running program.

Bar Admissions

• State of New Mexico United States District Court for the District of New Mexico

Education

• University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • J.D. Degree, 2010
  • Honors: magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Dean’s List
• Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Georgia
  • Bachelor of Health Science, 2006
  • Honors: magna cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, completed doctoral level Physical Therapy courses and externship during undergraduate period.

Publications

• New Mexico’s Legal Community Maintains Year-Round Tradition of Generosity, Defense News, Winter 2012/2013
• Medicare Secondary Payer Reform: The Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act, Defense News, Spring 2013
• Untangling the Web: Differentiating Between Raskob and Hovet Claims to Determine the Proper Scope of Discovery, Defense News, Fall 2013
• For Those of You Scratching Your Head Over Double Costs Awarded in Estate of Lajeuenesse v. Board of Regents … Good News!, Defense News, Winter 2013/2014
• Co-Editor-in-Chief, Quarterly Publications of Defense News, 2014 to 2016.